Political Science Seminar: Esen Kirdiş (Rhodes College)

SİYASET BİLİMİ SEMİNERİ

Between Movement and Party: The Rise of Islamic Political Parties

Esen Kirdiş

(Rhodes College)

11 Mart 2013, Pazartesi

14:30 SSBF 2034

Abstract:

In the aftermath of the Arab Spring, one of the most important questions in contemporary politics is whether Islamic movements are democratically committed. While questioning the democratic commitment of Islamic movements, the literature focuses its attention mainly on those movements that form Islamic political parties (IPPs). However, not all Islamic movements form IPPs. Hence, there is a void in the literature of a theory on the variation of Islamic movement behavior. Thus, I ask: Why do some Islamic movements form Islamic political parties, while others do not? To answer this question, I look at variation “between” countries, between Morocco, Turkey, and Jordan, as well as “within” countries: within each country I look at two different Islamic movements, one of which forms an IPP and another one of which rejects party formation and decides to stay as a movement. In light of my research findings, I argue that a movement’s strategic objectives defined by its ideological priorities and its organizational needs explain whether a movement will shift to party politics or not.